Method of forming fountain-pen clips



- Feb. 19, 1929. 1,702,656

W. P. M ALPINE METHOD OF FORMING FOUNTAIN. PEN CLIPS Fil ed March '7. 1928 Mum/r01? Patented Feb. 19, 192 9.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER P. MCALPINE, OF ATTLEBOBO FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS, A SSIGNOR TO THE W. N. FISHER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD OF FORMING FOUNTAIN-PEN CLIPS.

Application filed March 7, 1928. Serial No. 259,710.

My invention is a method of producing a clip for fountain pens, formed of resilient metal, but completely covered outwardly by a sheet of different metal, usually silver-or gold.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows the blanks in its first form;

Fig. 2 after the spinning process;

Fig. 3 after the format-ion of the neck;

Fig. a after the flat rolling;

Fig. 5 shows the ball head, as first formed;

ig. 6 shows the head attached;

Fig. 7 shows the clip bent for attachment to a pen cap; and

Fig. 8 shows the clip just before it is engaged with a cap.

The clip by which a fountain pen is secured to the pocket of the user, essentially a leaf spring, attached in some suitablemannor to the pen, usually to the cap, and in order to have permanent resiliency, it is necessary that the bulk of the clip should be of base metal, as steel or brass. For purposes of appearance and rust-resisting qualities it is desirable that the base-metal spring should be covered by an outer layer of other metal, usually gold.

There are two means now well known of applying an outer surface of silver or gold to base metal, one is to take a sheet of base metal, for example, brass or a white alloy, like German silver, and roll upon each surface sheet of gold or silver. Another method is to cover the base metal with a precious metal by an electro-plating or deposit process, well known. The rolling process is especially adapted to flat sheets, being the most expeditious method of covering such shapes; while the latter is applicable to articles of any shape or size, but, as each article must be immersed in the plating bath and connected to the negative pole in order to cause the metal, also immersed in the bath, to be deposited, the electro-depositing process is not commercially well adapted to quantity production of very small articles, blanks for which have hitherto been stamped from rolled or plated sheets, leaving at the edge of each blank an uncovered face of base metal, which, whatever shape was later given to the blank by pressing or other operations, remained in the finished article.

It is an object of my invention to economically produce in quantity, a clip for fountain pens in which the edges of the article as well as the faces, front and back, shall be covered by an outer lay-erof metal differing from the main body of the article.

To this end I first form a rolled or electroplated rod or wire having an inner metal core and an outer covering of different and generally more valuable metal. This form is relatively thick as compared with the finished article and is out into suitable lengths for working to shape. See Fig. 1, Where the cylindrical blank is marked 1. The blank is then passed to a machine, preferably automatic, in. which the two ends of blank 1 are spun to points 11, 11 (see Fig. 2), the spinning process elongating the blank and correspondingly thinning the outer metal covering. A neck 12 is now formed near the pointed end 11, aS shown at Fig. 3, and the blank, from below the neck 12 to end 11 is rolled flat or to a slightly curved cross-section, as shown in Fig. 4; and to the end 11 a head 2 is applied, which is a tube having a hemi-spherical closure 21 at one end (Fig. 5). The open end 22 of the part 2 is spun into the neck 12 to permanently connect the head in a substantially globular form, with the end 11 of the blank, (Fig. 6). The point 11 of the clip is now bent transversely of its flattened faces, as indicated in Fig. 7, and the clip is then ready for attachment to a cap A as indicated in Fig. 8, in which the flattened point 11 is shown passed through an aperture in the side of the cap, to be bent into clamping position by the forcible insertion of an inner cap B flattened or grooved on the side engageing the point 11, or by a tool, in case no inner cap is employed. The clip is thus securely locked in place.

I claim:

The method above described, consisting in forming a metal blank having a cylindrical metal core, covered by a tubular metal jacket, elongating and pointing the ends of the blank, forminga neck near one point of the blank, rolling the blank fiat from the neck to the other point, securing a head upon the first point, and bending the other point across the flattened faces.

Signed at Attleboro Falls, Massachusetts, this 5th day of March, 1928.

WALTER P. MoALPINE. 

